Becoming his Mistress: A Zanetti Famiglia Novel

by Faiman, Hayley

  He thinks on it for a moment. While he does, my gaze shifts up to the apartment window that I know is Chloe’s. Thankfully, the lights are still on, and I don’t miss Luca’s shadow as I assume, he looks down at me. Probably cursing me, but I don’t give a fuck.

  “I think I’ll take a marker on this one,” Benicio informs.

  “When can I expect the information?”

  “Since I doubt she knows how to do any firewalls, or anything, probably tomorrow sometime.”

  Thanking him, I end the call and exit the car. Jogging up to the door, I send a text to Luca and I hear the door buzz signaling that I can now open it. I knew it was him watching me. I don’t know what he’s being so protective about.

  I know he’s fallen for the tawny-skinned woman, her hair so fucking dark it can only be described as obsidian. Then there are her eyes, black and seeing far too much. As beautiful as she is, she kind of frightens me.

  Jogging up the staircase, I lift my fist to knock on the door when it swings open. I’m met with that woman, her black eyes glaring at me angrily. Fuck, she’s terrifying.

  “Where’s Lenora?” I demand.

  She squares her shoulders, lifting her chin slightly in defiance. “She doesn’t want to see you. In fact, she doesn’t want anything to do with you. Why don’t you go home to your wife,” she hisses.

  I feel my body sway from her words. Lifting my gaze to Luca, I arch a brow in question but he shakes his head. I know he wouldn’t tell her, which can only mean that she found out some other way.

  “Not that I have to explain shit to you, but it’s not what it looks like,” I lamely explain.

  She jerks her head back with a snort. Luca, standing behind her, blocks my view into the rest of the apartment. They really don’t want me to see my woman, mine. My Lenora. My fingers twitch, itching to pull out my gun and demand my woman. I don’t though, not yet, at least.

  “Really? Because I saw photographic evidence that you married Senator McClain’s daughter. The same bitch that visited Lenora’s shop twice in the past four days. That visited the same day her inventory was destroyed. You’re a piece of shit, Arlo. Go home to your fucking wife and leave Lenora alone. She deserves so much better than you.”

  “Chloe.”

  Luca’s voice rumbles as he slides his hand around her waist, placing his palm against her belly he tugs her against his chest. It’s a protective move. If he needs, he can toss her to the side and fight me off.

  I shake my head. I would never hurt Chloe. She’s protecting Lenora with a fierceness that I find admirable.

  “Lenora,” I call out. Nothing but silence greets me in return. “I will fix this, tesoro. Don’t give up on me. Let me show you that I can fix this.”

  Without another word, or glance to her protectors, I leave them. Heading down to my car, I don’t go home. I can’t. If I do, I’ll kill Wynter with my own bare hands. Instead, I go to the apartment that I share with Lenora—my true home. The only place that I feel at peace.

  ELENORA

  His words rattle around in my head. It’s not what you think. I will fix this. Don’t give up on me. My entire body trembles as Chloe closes the door and flips the lock with an exaggerated flourish.

  “That dick,” she screeches, her eyes looking directly at Luca.

  He holds up his hands, his head moving from side to side and his back stiff. “Don’t look at me, bella. I told him from the beginning that it wasn’t a good idea. He wouldn’t listen to me, he wouldn’t listen to anyone.”

  “What do you know?” I ask, finally speaking for the first time in what feels like hours.

  Luca slowly turns around to face me. He drops his hands, but he can’t hide the look of pure pity in his eyes. I pity myself, too, so I don’t blame him for doing the same.

  “Not much. Just that he married her a week or so ago and it wasn’t really his choice. It was an arrangement.”

  “Because her father is a senator?” I ask.

  He nods. It makes sense. His business isn’t legal, he needs protection so he married someone who could offer that for him and for Gavino and more importantly, Luciana his cousin. Maybe I shouldn’t be too angry with him, and I’m not, not really.

  I’m hurt.

  I’m heartbroken.

  I’m devastated.

  I’m a million different emotions all balled into one body. I hate it all. I hate the way that it feels, as if it’s going to bubble out of me and fill up the room.

  Chloe and Luca both watch me as if waiting for the emotions to do just that, bubble out of me and fill up the space around us.

  Inhaling a deep breath, I stand from my spot on the sofa. “I’m going to get some sleep. I have some things to think about tomorrow, some decisions to make.”

  Chloe takes a step forward. “Lenora,” she whispers.

  Holding my hand up, I shake my head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I do know that I won’t continue sleeping with a married man, no matter what his arrangement with her is.”

  She smiles as water fills her dark eyes. “Not what I was going to talk about. I have an offer for you.”

  “What?”

  “Aside from begging you to move back in with me. I want to loan you the money to replace your inventory. I know that you have to wait for the insurance to kick in, but until then, you can’t keep the shop closed.”

  “I couldn’t,” I breathe.

  She takes a step toward me, then another, until she envelops me in a hug. “Take my money, it’s a loan, you’ll pay me back. I trust you.”

  “What if I can’t,” I whisper.

  She snorts. “Then you’ll pay me back whenever you can. You’re my best friend, Lenora. Let me help you.”

  Clinging to her, I cry. Not just because of her generosity, but because of everything. I let it all flow out of me in the form of tears.

  I fell in love with a married man. His beautiful, gorgeous, wife knows, and she is not afraid to show me that she knows.

  Chloe is in love with a man who cherishes her. Me? I’m just a fucking mess with a fucked-up store and only a sliver of hope to recoup the inventory from my insurance company. If they deny my claim, I don’t know what I’ll do.

  “Everything is going to be okay. Trust me,” she whispers.

  I wish that I could believe her. I wish that my heart didn’t ache. I wish that I could be with the man that I love.

  I wish for a lot, all of which, I will probably never get.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ARLO

  I don’t sleep. I sit in bed, our bed, the one that Lenora and I share and I stare at the wall the entire fucking night. How could I have let shit get so fucked up? It’s easy. I’m selfish. I’m the Wynter in my relationship with Lenora.

  “Fuuuuck,” I shout into the room.

  Running my fingers through my hair, I tug on the ends with frustration. My phone dances on my nightstand and I groan at the name that flashes across the screen.

  “What, Mia?” I sigh.

  She hums. “We may have a small situation with the auction,” she begins.

  “What?” I bark.

  My patience is thin as fuck and I just want all of this shit to be done and over with. I want Wynter gone. I want Lenora back in my bed and at my side. I want everything to be my fucking way.

  I almost laugh hysterically at how goddamn ridiculous I sound in my own head. I don’t. I wait for Mia to speak.

  “We have a client that is demanding to keep the virgin he purchases,” she whispers loudly.

  Leaning back, my head hits the wood headboard with a thud. Closing my eyes, I let out a deep sigh. “Who is it?” I ask.

  She sighs. “Tiziano Bianchi.”

  I let the name simmer in the back of my mind for a moment. I know Tiziano Bianchi fairly well. He’s a few years older than me and next in line to take over the Bianchi famiglia. What I didn’t know was that he even came down here and hired our girls.

  “How am I just now hearing of his in
volvement with our girls in general, Mia?” I demand.

  There’s a moment of silence, then she lets out a puff of air. “He asked me to keep it on the down-low. I’ve known him just as long as you have. He’s one of the good guys,” she defends.

  “Yes, but. Those girls are not his, doesn’t his family have their own women?”

  She hums. “They did, but a little birdie told me that the Zanetti famiglia essentially has a monopoly over the market in this area. So, the other families are picking up different businesses and focusing on those while we take over,” she explains.

  “I can see that,” I chuckle.

  “Which means that several of our clients, are from other famiglias and one of them is Tiziano Bianchi.”

  “Fuck,” I hiss. “And he wants to buy a woman?”

  “He wants to buy a virgin,” she corrects.

  “I’ll call him, explain to him that, that isn’t what kind of auction this is. He’ll understand.”

  Mia hums before she speaks. “He won’t. I already tried to talk to him, Arlo. He is insistent. His father wants him married, he has no desire. He said the only way he’ll do it is if he can own the girl. He doesn’t want anyone that can leave.”

  “Like his mother. Merda. When did all of these men get to be so goddamn soft?” I bark.

  “Like you?” she counters. Pressing my lips together, I growl. “Calm your ass, Arlo. You’re soft for your woman just like Gavino is soft for his and every other man who is in love is soft for theirs. You’ll survive, Arlo. Try to talk to Tiz. Maybe you can get through to him. I think he has some kind of plan and I don’t like it.”

  Agreeing with her, I add a meeting with Tiziano to my fucking list, because I don’t have enough goddamn shit to do apparently. Deciding that sleep is useless, I go ahead and get up for the day. I can’t stop my mind from wandering to Lenora every few seconds.

  I want nothing more than to go to Chloe’s and demand she come back to me, immediately. I don’t. I’m going to keep my distance until I’m officially free, until I know that without a doubt, I can promise her my fidelity.

  Until I can actually claim her as my own.

  I just hope that it doesn’t take too fucking long. Honest to shit, I’m not sure how long I can stay away from her. But I don’t want to give Wynter any more ammunition. I know that between Massimo and Luca she is as safe as can be at this moment.

  Once I’m dressed, I head out of the apartment and toward work. Dialing Tiziano, I grip the steering wheel tightly and force my car toward my office and not backtrack it to Manhattan.

  “This is an odd surprise,” Tiziano says as his way of greeting me.

  I snort. “You know why I’m calling, Tiz.”

  “I do, well I assume, but why don’t you clarify it. You know what they say happens when you assume things.”

  Laughing, I shake my head. I’d almost forgotten how fucking annoying he was and how much I actually like the motherfucker.

  “I can’t let you buy a girl. We don’t work like that and you know it. We’re not that kind of traffickers.”

  “I also know that you’ve done a contract for a man in the past. If we involve Salvatore, what kind of deal can we make?”

  I hiss out a curse as I pull into the parking garage of my office. “Let me talk to Gavino. I am not making any promises. But I need a little more from you. Why not just do an arranged marriage with someone?”

  He snorts. “How’s that working out for you, Arlo?”

  “Touché. You gotta give me something, Tiz. More than just, I want my own woman.”

  He grunts then lets out a growl. “Okay. Fine. I want someone who can’t leave. Not who won’t, but who can’t. I don’t want someone who is with me to just trade up at the drop of a hat. It’s not such a strange concept, is it, especially in our world.”

  “It’s not,” I agree. “This about your mom?”

  “Her and a couple other women. It’s a pattern, Arlo, and I’m just so fucking tired. I’m ready to start my life. Fucking is fun, but I need more, and I can’t get it on my own. As flat out fucking pathetic as that shit sounds.”

  “I get it, Tiz. Let me talk to Gavino, see what he says. I’m not making any promises though,” I say.

  Ending the call, I exit and head toward the building. I have to deal with Gavino now, then meet with Mia and hopefully somewhere in the middle of all of that I can get Wynter’s phone records and bank statements.

  I’m ready to get the bitch gone. I chuckle humorlessly to myself. I didn’t even last a whole week in a marriage. I’m a fucking failure.

  ELENORA

  My eyes feel like they’re never going to heal. They burn and they’re almost swollen shut. Crying all night is for the fucking birds. Climbing out of bed, I shuffle into the living room, then kitchen, in search of coffee. I’m going to need a whole vat of it just to stay awake today.

  “You doing okay?” Luca’s deep, but gentle, voice asks.

  He’s sitting where Chloe usually sits, a bagel in front of him just like her. I glance around looking for my friend.

  “She left for work. Needed to catch up on a few things,” he explains.

  I grimace, knowing that it’s my fault she had to leave early and feeling guilty as shit about it. “Don’t be like that, Lenora. You would have done the same for her,” he points out.

  “Always.” I nod.

  Once my coffee mug is full, I take it over to the table and sit across from Luca. His eyes watch me the entire time, though it’s nothing sexual, just assessing.

  “Arlo is in love with you. I don’t know if he’s admitted it to you, or even himself, but I can see it in his eyes. He cares deeply for you.”

  “He’s married,” I deadpan.

  Luca nods, lifting his bagel to his mouth and tearing a piece off with his teeth. “He is,” he agrees as he chews. When he swallows his eyes find mine again. “But you don’t understand our world, Lenora.”

  “The gambling world?” I ask, arching a brow.

  Luca chuckles. “Something like that. Just know that when he made his commitment to Wynter he didn’t have much of a choice, or he at least felt that way. He regrets it now.” Luca stands to his feet, his coffee in one hand and his bagel in the other. “I’m not defending him. I’m just explaining a little deeper about what’s going on, at least as much as I can. Gavino can probably tell you more.”

  Luca turns his back and walks into Chloe’s bedroom. I watch his retreating form, not seeing him, but rather thinking. Gavino. I remember him coming to my store before I knew that he was Arlo’s friend. He told me there weren’t many people in this world that I could trust, but that I could trust him.

  Biting the corner of my lip, I decide that I need to ask Gavino some questions. Standing from my seat I make my way over to Chloe’s room and lift my hand. Knocking on the door, I wait for Luca to appear. He does, shortly, still shirtless but this time he has a towel wrapped around his waist.

  I smirk, lifting my eyes from his waist to his face. “When you’re ready, can you give me Gavino’s number? He told me that I could trust him once, and I want to ask him some questions.”

  Luca’s brows shoot up and his eyes widen. Then he smiles. “Arlo will probably be pissed as fuck, so naturally I’ll give you his number.” He winks.

  “Thanks,” I whisper.

  Turning away from him, I decide to go back into the small dining room and finish my coffee, then I pour myself another cup as I wait for Luca to exit Chloe’s bedroom. He does a few minutes later, then hands me a slip of paper with a phone number scribbled on it.

  “I have some work to do today, you’ll be okay here alone?” he asks.

  “I will.” I nod.

  “Massimo is still somewhere out there, or one of his guys. Don’t go anywhere alone unless you absolutely have to,” he warns.

  “I won’t.”

  Luca turns from me and walks away, closing, then locking the front door behind him. I hold the paper in my hand, staring at it f
or a little longer than I should. I decide not to use it yet, after all.

  I’ll use it when I need it, but right now I feel safe. I’m just angry and I shouldn’t go anywhere else for answers. I expect Arlo, eventually, to give them all to me. Just not yet. I can’t look into his beautiful face to even discuss this situation.

  One day when the pain isn’t as raw, maybe I can. I don’t know when that will be. I just know that it isn’t anytime soon.

  Standing from the table, I make my way to the bedroom and quickly dress back in the clothes that I wore the day before. Ignoring Luca’s advice, I decide to head home, change into clean clothes and pack a bag to bring back here.

  I don’t have enough money to buy new inventory, I sure as shit can’t go on a shopping spree when I have plenty of clothes in the East Village sitting in a closet.

  Hiring an Uber, I make my way downstairs and wait on the sidewalk. I freeze when a tall man in a suit walks up next to me, almost immediately.

  “You do know being your babysitter is so beneath my paygrade it’s insane, don’t you?”

  Shifting my gaze to the side, I look up at the man. His chin is tipped down, his dark eyes are focused on me and I gasp at how handsome he is. He arches a brow waiting for my response to his question.

  “What’s your name?” I demand.

  His lips twitch into a smirk. “At least you’re not a complete idiot. I’m Massimo, in charge of you until whatever the fuck is going on blows over.”

  “I’m heading back to my apartment. I need some clothes, otherwise I would have stayed locked inside Chloe’s for an eternity,” I sigh.

  “And you didn’t ask Luca, because?”

  “He’s done enough already. He has things to do today I’m sure.”

  Massimo shakes his head, his lips twitching into a smile as he does. “Come on, I’ll take you there. You can pack and then I’ll bring you back here,” he offers.

  “I don’t know…”